Ideas for Dana and her 1953 Crosley kitchen

We found the provenance of Dana’s kitchen cabinets yesterday — 1953 Crosley’s just like the ad! Yummy! Now, she’d like some ideas for appliance, flooring.

Readers, feel free to join in this new ‘intervention’ 🙂 , and to get us started, and in the spirit of the vintage Crosley advertisement — here goes:

A black and white checked ‘diner’ floor? Dana asks. Well, I have to admit that while I put one into the first house I ever owned, I am actually no longer a fan of the look. I think because I have been so exposed to vintage designs and honestly, can’t ever recall seeing the black-and-white check in a real kitchen. For that reason, Dana, I would suggest you consider Armstrong Imperial Excelon or…as your kitchen definitely has the ‘sweet and streamlined’ look going on, what with all those round edges, I think I actually like lineoleum for you – from Armstrong or Marmoleum. And how about a nice strong green – inspired by our advertisement? Really, any color would be fine, your choice. But note, with those black countertops, I think that you want and need nice strong complementary colors, rather than, say, faded pastels.

For appliances — I also never recommend this, but because your cabinets have an aged ivory color, I would in fact think stainless steel appliances would work best in this kitchen. The whites of today, are offensive when put next to those cabinets, to my eye. How about the Sears Kenmore dual-fuel (or all-electric or all-gas) 40″ range in stainless steel? It’s a nice one. And a Jenn-Aire cabinet depth french door fridge, also in stainless? The stainless steel would pick up the chrome on your cabinets….and also bring the kitchen forward to the modern day a bit. Hey, your girlfriends would approve, too, I bet! As an alternative, you could also try and hunt down a vintage stove and fridge – but again, be very very careful regarding the whites.

Also, honey, you may not want to hear this, but you need a new sink cabinet (and other, additional cabinets, perhaps?) to match your existing cabinets! Start the hunt, Dana — and know that once you put your retro renovator vibe out there, your extra cabinets will find you!

I do want to note, regarding the sink cabinet, that you could also go with a restaurant-style freestanding stainless steel setup. Hmmmm….. I think that this will tip your kitchen even further into the ‘industrial’ feel not just retro. It would work, though; it’s really your style choice.

Finally — if you think you can get away without my recommending wallpaper, then you haven’t been reading this blog for very long, or religiously like you should! How about this very classic look, a pattern from Hannah’s Treasures? Of course – there are many many choices, just remember the advice of putting some “strength” in your accents.Good luck, Dana, we are so proud of your retro reno courage to bring this kitchen back to life! Keep us up to date — we want to see! You know, this kitchen has the potential to be so great — we’ll get it in a magazine just like mine was!!!

Comments

Ronn here. Hey, if you want to stick with black and white, I just had an idea about the cabinets: what if you had two or three of them on the left wall professionally repainted gloss black? This balances the dark/light shapes, and sticks with the current theme.

Update from the 1953 kitchen: The cabinets are enjoying a rebirth with a local powder coating shop, dcpowdercoating.com, which will bring them back to there shiny greatness. I’ve ordered black laminate counter with a aluminum edge from Ikea. I’ve also picked-up some aluminum shelving to add some more utility. The walls will be painted semi-gloss Benjamin Moore Pale Vista. I’m stuck with the refrigerator though. I want to find a stainless one that fits into my space…. the cabinets allow for a refrigerator 66″ H x 36″ W. That is nearly impossible! Next step, picking the laminate floor!

My parents had a 1955 Crosley kitchen. It was the state of the art kitchen -actually the set from the 1955 Crosley Bendix dealers’ movie which my father made.
It won a design award and was in McCall’s magazine.

I have been trying to recreate this kitchen for years.

HELP. If anyone knows where I can find the cabinets, please let me know! I have found the frig. Others like it at antiqueappliances.com

If you want to see a photo, I have one.
Cabinets were copper in cooking area, laundry area was white. Floor was speckled tan, cream and beige tile- like marmoleum. Countertops beige speckle formica, stainless steel sink. Appliances were ss electric cooktop (this was midcentury modern sleek, not Happy Days) and separate frig and freezer. Freezer had an ice cream maker, frig had thru door water. Both had circular chrome center handle. @ ss wall ovens. Accent color was a soft aqua/turquoise.

I have 2 of the kitchen cabinets as shown in the picture. Was going to toss them, but maybe someone would want them? Do you know how I might go about finding people who are interested in this stuff? Thx. Bev Cook, Portland OR

BTW: I agree that white apliances would clash against old white cabinets, but I think the stainless would make the room too cold. I would go with black appliances to match the black and chrome countertops. Then any color – red, aqua, yellow, pink, can be painted on the walls with other colors as accents.